Approximately 365 Days In A Life

July 27th, 2010

There was quite a bit of expectation on HaHaHa at MIFF, with it winning the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes this year (Asia cinema’s first win at the festival). Perhaps my expectations were too high.

Jo Moon-kyeong (Kim Sang-Kyung), a filmmaker, plans to leave Seoul to live in Canada. Prior to his departure, he meets long-time friend Bang Joong-sik (Yu Jun-Sang), a critic. After a few rounds, they find out they have both been to the same small seaside town Tong-yung recently and decide to reveal their accounts of the trip, under the condition that they only stick to pleasant memories. Not realizing that their experiences were in the same places and with the same people, the two men’s reminiscence of a hot summer comes out as a series of memorable events.

This is one of the only films I can think of in recent memory that effectively uses still photography stylistically to emanate an emotional response from the viewer. The contrasting events also play out in a sophisticated manner, discussing the idea of different contexts in the same setting. The parallel lives of the two immature men is, at least for the first half, interesting. They novelty of the style, however, wears off in the second half of the film, where unnecessary scenes become prevalent.

The acting is solid and most of the characters, despite their immaturity, are easy to engage with. The comedy is effortless and there are many laughs to be had.

The social critique of Korean mores that underlines the movie is also very interesting, yet director Hong Sang-Soo is very blunt with his message. Much like his other films, HaHaHa is a biting portrayal of Korean youth’s narcissism (and drinking etiquette). Another problem with the film is the fact that I simply disliked two of the major characters: Bang Joong-sik and the poet (Kim Kang-Woo) – they just frustrated me.